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Difficult spot

1634 Racine1634 Racine Posts: 568
in Problem solving
Evening all.  Beautiful day down south today.  Hope you all had the same. 

Due to some building work last year I had to cut back hard into this hedge.  Now i'm left with an ugly brown bookend which I want to hide.

Position is on the shady side of partial sun.  I haven't dug yet but I'm expecting some annoying roots from the hedge. 

Anybody got any suggestions?


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  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Hello Racine,  I can't quite work out from the photo what kind of hedge it is? If you can let us know, we'll be able to give better advice.  Thanks
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Racine said
    Anybody got any suggestions?

    Yes - take the rest of it out  :D
    Joking apart - do you really need the rest of the hedge? It would give you more scope if it wasn't there.
    If you really need it though, are you looking for a shrub of some kind? Flowering?
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • 1634 Racine1634 Racine Posts: 568
    Hi @Lizzie27 and @Fairygirl

    Not sure exactly what the hedge is.  It's some kind of evergreen cedar type.  I have thought about removing it but it's quite a nice divider between 'my garden' and the 'family garden' :)

    I was thinking maybe some ivy to climb up and smother it.  
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I did wonder if it was yew, but if you think it's a cedar, it's probably Western red cedar thuja plicata. Not sure if this can regenerate from brown wood or not, others might know.  If you go for ivy, how are you going to stop it growing into the rest of the hedge?
    What about a big pot with some bamboo or other quick-growing plant in it instead? 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • 1634 Racine1634 Racine Posts: 568
    Lizzie27 said:
    I did wonder if it was yew, but if you think it's a cedar, it's probably Western red cedar thuja plicata. Not sure if this can regenerate from brown wood or not, others might know.  If you go for ivy, how are you going to stop it growing into the rest of the hedge?
    What about a big pot with some bamboo or other quick-growing plant in it instead? 


    Don't take my word for it on the ID but it's not showing any signs of regrowth.  I was thinking container too and it's a good suggestion.  Would solve the problem of dealing with the roots.


    No idea on the ivy question.  Some judicious pruning I guess!
  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    edited October 2018
    I think if you wish to keep it, with a little patience you can re-train and bend and tie in some side and end bits to cover it, horizontally, though it may take a little while. Depends on what it is and how fast it grows.
    I think I see there are some green bits at the end. here and there, and also a bit as you look at it part way up. Let them grow.
    Perhaps you could just stand a large pot of something a little in front so it still gets air and light to distract and hide it a bit until then. If you use ivy it will smother it but there will be less or no chance of the bits left covering if they have to fight for light and air.
    If you can bear it I think I would try that first. Plenty of water and a bit of feed to give it a boost. (Bookend made me laugh, a good description) .
    I reckon with a little patience you could make it look okay.
    Edit, if that is a normal sized manhole cover, then the hedge looks small and not terribly old even if it is the scary monster beginning with L.  you have grown and trimmed it well.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I had wondered about that Rubytwo. I think I would try cutting out any obviously brown dead bits in the middle, then gently bend and wire some of the longer, greener side shoots over the middle if possible. This worked on my privet hedge bare patch, but of course privet grows faster than cedar.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • 1634 Racine1634 Racine Posts: 568
    Thanks @Rubytoo

    That's a really interesting idea and I think it could work.  Of course it means I can't have any fun looking for new plants though  :/

    I'm pretty sure it's not the L monster.  I've been here 6 years now and it's only ever had a light trim twice a year.  Hasn't grown much in that time.

  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    That does look like leylandii to me so if so, you need an evergreen shrub that it fairly fast growing and will hide the damage. I would suggest something like a viburnum tinus - tough as old boots, can be trimmed, evergreen. Not very exciting. Or an Aucuba japonica - spotted leaves might give a bit of interest against the green. Or the shrubby honeysuckle for a touch of yellow. 
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    I really do not know what it is, but Thuja will regenerate i think. That might be if not Leylandii.
    We had an old Leylandii hedge, oops! Still have, (it is almost time for it to be removed now our yews have grown).
    The L were past their best and had been left by previous owners not well tended for some years. On advice from a good landscape gardener and nurseryman, who said cut but leave some green to sprout.
    I patiently cut back quite hard but left some green, foliar fed with one of the Vitax granules, and renovated them a bit to last a few more years. Gaps had bits tied in and by the following year we had some cover, and the next it was looking okay.
    So yours does not look anything like as big or old or awful as ours.
    Sorry for the ramble.
    It is not worth doing with Leylandii, and better to bite the bullet for many. But it was worthwhile enough for us at the time.
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